Several thousands of people across Tamil Nadu stayed away from polling to highlight unresolved issues, including infrastructure, land acquisition, and basic amenities, and demands that remained unfulfilled for years.
In Chennai, residents of a few zones that were badly affected by the floods did not turn up to vote. Villagers who are opposing the Parandur airport project also boycotted the election.
Residents of Avalur near Ranipet boycotted the election, claiming that the government had not fulfilled their long- standing demand for a road over-bridge on the Chennai-Bengaluru Highway (NH 44). They said they had been petitioning the government since 2016. But, by the end of the day, the police convinced some of them to vote.
Residents of Jyothalli village in Dharmapuri district stayed away from the election during the first half of the day to highlight their demand for a bridge over the Bangalore-Salem rail line that remains unmet for four decades.
Residents of Gobi Rasipuram and Koolegoundanpudur in Annur, which falls in the Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency, resorted to a poll boycott in protest against the government’s failure to bring water to a 3.5-acre lake in the area.
People of Senkalathupadi, near Yercaud, stayed away from the polling. They demand a burial ground for their hamlet. Even during the 2021 Assembly election, they announced a boycott for the same reason; but they relented after officials assured them that the demand would be considered. Later, revenue officials identified one acre of poramboke land, but it had no access. To reach this land, people had to pass a private estate. The private land owner agreed to give one acre of his patta land to the government in exchange for one acre of poramboke land. The officials sent the file to the government and it was pending. On Friday, Yercaud Tahsildar Ramesh held talks with the villagers, but the protest continued.
Residents of Modakkupatti in the Manmalai panchayat of Salem district boycotted the election demanding closure of a pesticide factory in their village. Voters of Mummudi Cholan village in the Cuddalore Lok Sabha constituency boycotted the poll in protest against acquisition of land by NLC India Limited for its Mines III project.
The polling stations in Katchiperumanatham and Mudhanai near Vriddhachalam in the Cuddalore Lok Sabha constituency also wore a deserted look as not a voter stepped out to vote since the morning. Residents demanded a separate panchayat. The news of the boycott spread on social media. Local officials went there and persuaded people to vote. Yet, a section of the electorate did not vote.
Four polling stations in the Krishnagiri Lok Sabha constituency also looked deserted as residents boycotted the poll, demanding proper roads, land titles, and construction of a flyover. In Ramanathapuram district, two polling booths in the Mudukulathur Assembly constituency remained deserted. The villagers said the basic amenities were not provided and the promise to arrest two accused persons in an attempt-to-murder case was not fulfilled in the Ilanjampur police station limits. In Sivaganga, residents of Sithoorani and Kalloorani hamlets near Illayankudi did not vote as basic amenities had not been provided for many years.
In Tenkasi, residents of Irumankulam demanded closure of a stone quarry and in Dindigul district, residents of Seeragampatti near Natham did not vote, saying their demands had not been met for several years.
